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<\/p>\nHe was once a beloved child star. Decades later, his life took a shocking turn.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Millions knew his face as a child. Few could have imagined what happened next.<\/p>\n
He disappeared from the spotlight\u2014and returned years later in a completely unexpected role.<\/p>\n
For millions of people who grew up in the 1980s, Jeff Cohen will always be remembered as Chunk from The Goonies<\/em>. With his Hawaiian shirt, unforgettable personality, and legendary \u201cTruffle Shuffle,\u201d he became one of the movie\u2019s most recognizable young characters.<\/p>\n But Cohen\u2019s life after The Goonies<\/em> took a direction that few fans could have predicted. Instead of continuing as a child actor, he eventually left Hollywood\u2019s spotlight behind and built an entirely different career\u2014one that would ultimately take him back into the entertainment industry from the other side of the business.<\/p>\n Jeffrey Bertan McMahon was born on June 25, 1974, in Los Angeles. His parents separated when he was still young, and as he grew older, he eventually adopted the surname Cohen, using his mother Elaine\u2019s maiden name.<\/p>\n Before becoming famous, Cohen had already gained some television experience. In the early 1980s, he appeared on the CBS game show Child\u2019s Play<\/em>, where children helped contestants figure out clues. He later appeared on another game show, Body Language<\/em>, as a young celebrity guest.<\/p>\n Then came the opportunity that would change his life.<\/p>\n In 1985, Cohen was cast as Lawrence \u201cChunk\u201d Cohen in The Goonies<\/em>. Directed by Richard Donner and produced by Steven Spielberg, the film followed a group of children who set off on an adventure involving a legendary treasure while trying to save their homes.<\/p>\n Cohen\u2019s performance quickly became one of the movie\u2019s highlights. Chunk\u2019s exaggerated reactions, comic timing, and unforgettable dance made him a fan favorite.<\/p>\n There was even an unusual secret behind his performance. Cohen reportedly had chickenpox while filming the movie but was afraid that revealing it could cost him the role. He continued working, and viewers can apparently even spot signs of it during the famous \u201cTruffle Shuffle\u201d scene.<\/p>\n After the success of The Goonies<\/em>, Cohen wanted to continue acting. However, puberty unexpectedly changed the direction of his career.<\/p>\n As he grew older and his appearance changed, the roles that had once been available to him began disappearing. Cohen later described the experience as if acting itself had rejected him.<\/p>\n For a young actor who had loved performing, it was a painful transition. Rather than allowing that setback to define him, however, Cohen began looking for a new path.<\/p>\n He stepped away from acting and concentrated on education, sports, and discovering who he was outside of his famous childhood character.<\/p>\n Cohen eventually attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he became involved with the football team. His connection to The Goonies<\/em>, however, never completely disappeared.<\/p>\n At Berkeley, crowds occasionally recognized him and asked him to perform the famous Truffle Shuffle. Eventually, he gave in and performed it for a large crowd, producing exactly the kind of reaction fans might expect.<\/p>\n One of the most important people in Cohen\u2019s life during this period was The Goonies<\/em> director Richard Donner.<\/p>\n The relationship between the two went far beyond the movie set. When Cohen was considering college, Donner supported him and helped him move toward a future outside acting. Donner also helped him find opportunities behind the scenes in the entertainment business.<\/p>\n His advice was essentially that understanding the business behind Hollywood could be just as valuable as being the person in front of the camera.<\/p>\n Cohen took that advice seriously.<\/p>\n He earned a business degree from Berkeley and later attended UCLA School of Law. Instead of becoming another Hollywood actor, he entered the world of entertainment law.<\/p>\n The irony of Cohen\u2019s career is that he never truly left entertainment behind.<\/p>\n He simply changed his position within the industry.<\/p>\n Cohen eventually became a successful entertainment attorney and co-founded the law firm Cohen & Gardner LLP. His professional achievements earned him recognition on industry lists, including Variety\u2019s Dealmakers List and The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Next Gen Executives.<\/p>\n His office also contains reminders of the career that started everything. Among his memorabilia are personal messages from major figures connected to his childhood in Hollywood, including Steven Spielberg and Richard Donner.<\/p>\n And there is something particularly amusing about his career: some of his clients still get a kick out of discovering that their serious Hollywood attorney was once the mischievous kid known around the world as Chunk.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most remarkable part of Cohen\u2019s story came years later when his professional life crossed paths with his childhood again.<\/p>\n Cohen represented his former Goonies<\/em> co-star Ke Huy Quan in connection with Everything Everywhere All at Once<\/em>.<\/p>\n The movie became a major success, and Quan ultimately won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.<\/p>\n During his emotional acceptance speech, Quan acknowledged Cohen, referring to him as his \u201cGoonies brother for life.\u201d<\/p>\n It was an extraordinary full-circle moment: two children who had once shared the screen in a beloved 1980s adventure were now successful adults working together in Hollywood.<\/p>\n Today, Jeff Cohen is far removed from the appearance that made Chunk famous. At 51, he has built a successful professional life and remains connected to the entertainment world without needing to return to acting.<\/p>\n He has also spoken positively about his younger self and the impact that character had on audiences.<\/p>\n His story is unusual because his childhood fame did not destroy his future. Instead, when acting stopped being an option, Cohen found another way to remain connected to the industry he loved.<\/p>\n Rather than becoming trapped by the identity of a famous child actor, he transformed himself into someone who understood Hollywood from a completely different perspective.<\/p>\n The boy once known for the Truffle Shuffle eventually became a respected entertainment lawyer\u2014and, decades later, helped negotiate major opportunities for another former child star from The Goonies<\/em>.<\/p>\n It may not have been the career he imagined when he was a child, but Jeff Cohen\u2019s journey proves that sometimes a closed door can lead to an entirely unexpected\u2014and remarkably successful\u2014second act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" He was once a beloved child star. Decades later, his life took a shocking turn. Millions knew his face as a child. Few could have imagined what… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mdrssa_facebook_image":"","_mdrssa_unique_id":"","_mdrssa_normalized_url":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3366,"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3365\/revisions\/3366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lateststories.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The boy behind Chunk<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhen Hollywood changed its mind<\/h2>\n
A completely different future<\/h2>\n
From child star to Hollywood lawyer<\/h2>\n
A full-circle Hollywood moment<\/h2>\n
A different kind of success<\/h2>\n